Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

Belemnites in Mythology: From Thunderstorms to Fertility Symbols.

Jack Wilkin May 3, 2021

Diagram showing belemnite anatomy (Author’s own work).

Belemnites are a group of now extinct marine coleoids cephalopods that lived during the Mesozoic (240 Mya – 65 Mya). Unlike modern squids, belemnites had a hard internal skeleon made of calcium carbonate called a rostrum. Like many fossil groups, belemnites have been associated with numerous myths and legends in folklore. Belemnites take their name from the Greek word belemnon meaning dart or jave ...[Read More]

Variety is the Spice of Life

Jon Noad April 5, 2021

It has been a busy few months here in Calgary. Obviously, fieldwork slows in the winter due to the amount of snow on the ground (and temperatures down to -40 degrees with wind chill factored in) but there are lots of other activities on the go. One of the joys of being a consultant is having the flexibility to take on a wide variety of small projects. Virtual Presentations I have found that giving ...[Read More]

Sediment in the deep ocean, Part 1: flows that shape the seafloor.

Ramon Lopez March 18, 2021

Most of us know about the existence of waves and tides. We can see them along our coasts and, even if we do not pay much attention, we also know that waves and tides move sediment that rests on the seafloor: sand, mud, shells and…plastics. We all can see ripples and small channels on beaches or estuaries created by the movement of water from waves and tides. If we scuba dive down to a few tens of ...[Read More]

What’s my age again? Comparing dating methods in loess

Janina Nett, Sonja Berg, Christian Zeeden and Stephanie Scheidt February 9, 2021

Figure 1: The investigated Balta Alba Kurgan loess-paleosol sequence in Romania with the partly preserved Kurgan on top (black dashed line). Sampled profiles are indicated by the white rectangles and the stratigraphically important tephra layer is highlighted in pink (adapted from [1]).

As you have learned from our previous posts, loess is a widespread terrestrial sediment, known to be an important archive for the changes of past environmental and climatic conditions. In order to use loess as a proxy, we first need to investigate the age of the sediments. In loess, different dating methods can be used, such as luminescence dating, radiocarbon dating, magnetic stratigraphy, and or ...[Read More]